Preps Daily: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015

7

Unbeaten high school football teams in the Journal Star circulation area. Each can qualify for a playoffs berth with a fifth victory Friday night.

Notre Dame, Peoria High, Washington, Princeville, Stark County, United and Princeton/Ohio each look to start 5-0.

Football by the numbers

4 — Teams in the JS area that are winless and need a victory to remain playoff eligible. Manual, Havana/Midwest Central, Illinois Valley Central and Lewistown enter Friday’s games 0-4. River Valley is already 0-5, after a forfeit loss.

6.5 — Points-allowed average for Limestone, fewest among Mid-Illini and Peoria teams.

10 — Quarters since Eureka/Roanoke-Benson last scored. The Hornets have not found the end zone since the second quarter of a 31-7 loss to Mahomet-Seymour in Week 2.

Anthone Rogers, Fieldcrest: The Knights senior wide receiver has 18 catches for 320 yards, most among JS-area small schools.

River Valley forfeits

Citing low numbers of healthy players, River Valley forfeited its scheduled Friday night game at Knoxville. The teams instead will play a junior varsity game.

River Valley — a three-school co-op between Henry, Midland and Lowpoint-Washburn — forfeited five games last season because of low numbers. The Falcons have been outscored 193-0 this season.

Boilers get all-stater

Donovan Oliver, an all-state basketball player, suited up for the Kewanee football team for the first time last weekend and caught two touchdown passes in the Boilermakers’ 38-29 loss to Class 3A No. 1 ranked Sterling Newman.

Oliver, a Division I basketball recruit who averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds as a junior, joined the football team after the beginning of the season and became eligible for the first time Friday.

Kewanee (2-2) travels to St. Bede (2-2) for a Three Rivers (Mississippi) Conference contest.

Soccer honors

Illini Bluffs goalkeeper Braden Cox was honored by MaxPreps as its Illinois soccer Player of the Week for Sept. 7-13. It was the second such honor this season for Cox, a sophomore, who this season has 99 saves, nine shutouts and a 0.8 goals-against average.

Redbirds rally back

Metamora rallied from seven points in the final set to beat visiting Pekin, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23 in a Mid-Illini Conference volleyball match. The Redbirds (12-5, 4-2) trailed 19-12 in the third set before Gillian Urycki (14 kills) helped tie the match at 20.

Star of the Day

Lucas Sondgeroth, Illini Bluffs boys soccer: The senior midfielder scored his 25th and 26th career goals setting the Illini Bluffs record. He scored the only goals in a 2-1 victory Thursday over Roanoke-Benson/Eureka.